All Systems Red

Murderbot accompanies Mensah, Arada, Pin-Lee, and Ratthi to explore the new area. Mensah tells Murderbot to sit in the cabin, which makes Murderbot anxious because it will have to interact with the team members. Fortunately, Murderbot is the co-pilot and does not have to talk to anyone. It reviews its logs from the previous day’s conversation and realizes that after it left the crew area, the team agreed to not “push [it] any further than it wanted to go” in terms of social interaction (39). Knowing that the crew is being considerate makes Murderbot even more uncomfortable, and it decides not to take its helmet off again.

The mission confirms that hazard warnings are missing from the maps. Murderbot tells Mensah that it is likely due to a damaged software package rather than sabotage. Back at the habitat, Murderbot completes its security checks and retires to its cubicle to watch media while the crew analyzes its data. Murderbot has found ways to avoid doing its updates: “I have a trick where I make HubSystem think I received it and then just put it in external storage” (46). Murderbot takes every opportunity to slack off on its duties, blaming its lack of interest on its shoddy construction.